


Iori of the Opera

by hainehime



Category: IDOLiSH7 (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Phantom of the Opera Fusion, IDOLiSH7 Flash Bang 2019, M/M, i7flashbang2019, ioriku
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-20
Updated: 2019-08-20
Packaged: 2020-09-18 19:53:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20318596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hainehime/pseuds/hainehime
Summary: In the midst of nineteenth century Paris stands the world famous opera house, Arène Zéro. People come from around the world to hear the divine voices of the talented opera singers. However, a disturbing rumor begins to surface of an alleged ghost who haunts the halls of the opera house, spreading mischief and misfortune wherever he roams. Riku is a mere choirboy in Arène Zéro’s ensemble. Yet when the masked phantom suddenly steps into the spotlight, taking an interest in Riku’s voice, the choirboy’s life changes forever.(An ioriku phantom of the opera AU!)





	Iori of the Opera

**Author's Note:**

> HELLO! I am very happy to participate in this year's ainana flash bang! I've been dying to write an i7 phantom of the opera AU forever and I think it fits Ioriku very well! Special thanks to my artist, the lovely @applemaple3! Follow their twitter!

Opening night was dreary and rainy. But the citizens of Paris didn’t let that stop them from rushing into the opera house, ecstatic to see the show. People came from around the world to see the beautiful star, Tenn Kujou perform. Alongside Gaku Yaotome, the two were the most famous singers in France, if not all of Europe. However, just hours before the show was to begin, the opera house was in panic.

“E-excuse me! Sorry. Uwah! Please, let me through! I’m his brother!” called a sweet voice. Riku Nanase eagerly pushed himself through the crowd until he reached the center. He saw his twin sitting in a chair. “Tenn-nii! Is it really true? You lost your voice!?”

Furious, France’s little angel held a finger to his lips to silence his twin. Although his throat was horrifically sore, he managed to utter the faintest of whispers. “Stay quiet, Riku. Y-you know the rules…no commotion backstage…” he hissed.

Tenn’s damaged voice broke Riku’s heart. However, the fact that he could still be sassy proved his spirits weren’t harmed. For the first time, the stage crew was relieved to hear Tenn show such attitude.

Amongst the crowd circling Tenn were the two owners of the opera house, Sousuke and Otoharu. The two men exchanged worried glances. “Damn it!” Sousuke exclaimed, far too loudly. “This is a complete nightmare! Whose ass do I need to fire for this!?”

“Keep your voice down. We’re backstage,” Otoharu reminded softly. He sighed. “No one needs to be fired. This isn’t Tenn-kun’s fault. Anyone can lose their voice.”

Tenn felt dizzy. Yet he quickly stood up from his seat. “I…” he stammered, voice cracking after just one syllable. He held his throat. “I can still go on. My fans. They need m-me…” He begged. It was only in his nature to please the fans no matter what.

Yet Otoharu shook his head. “I’m sorry, Tenn-kun. But you’re in no shape to perform. We’ll have to cancel the show,” he decided. Then grief washed over his face. “This is truly terrifying. The ghost left another note last night, stating that something unexpected would take place on opening night…” He recalled.

“The ghost!?” Riku gasped. “So the rumor of the opera house being haunted by an evil spirit is true?”

Sousuke frowned. “There’s no ghost. Just some punk ass running around at night, stealing things and leaving creepy notes in the manager’s office…”

The rumor of the supposed ghost that lived within the walls of the mansion was certainly terrifying. However, for some reason Riku wasn’t scared of the ghostly rumors at all. “You know, I can see ghosts!” He proclaimed delightfully. “If we ever need someone to talk to the ghost, I can! I’m sure he or she is very kind and just misunderstood.”

At that remark, Sousuke shot a glare in Riku’s direction. “What the hell did you say, choirboy?” he hissed. “Shouldn’t you be in the dressing room practicing scales? The ensemble doesn’t come on until the very end. Know your place,” he growled. Then he folded his arms and turned to Otoharu. “There’s no way we’re cancelling the show. Tenn is the only one who can play the female role alongside my son! No one else has such beautiful, feminine voice. Plus, they’d have to fit the exact size of his costu-…“

In that moment, all eyes fell to Riku.

“Eh? Wh-why is everyone staring at me?”

** _ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ _ **

The next thing he knew, Riku was ushered into the dressing room with his brother and ordered to swap clothes. He found himself wearing a frilly white dress, with gorgeous ruffles and an abundance of ribbons. He was nervous about playing the role of a girl. But since it was for the sake of theater, it wasn’t too uncommon.

Tenn didn’t have time to stop the escalating situation before another stage manager, Takamasa Kujou, dragged him away. Tenn always pushed himself to perform, even when he was sick. But this time, the crew wouldn’t let it come to that.

Tenn was pulled away from his twin by Kujou. And vanished.

Now on standby, Riku nervously stood backstage and waited for his cue to make his entrance. Although he knew Tenn’s role by heart, he felt anxiety consume him. He had to take numerous deep breaths in order to prevent hyperventilation. The last thing he needed was a respiratory attack at a time like this. He prayed something like that wouldn’t happen.

When the time came, the curtain rose and Gaku sang his line to cue Riku:

_“In the meantime…”_

Riku swallowed nervously. Gathering his courage, he took his first step and entered stage right. Then he sang back:

_“Yume no naka de toikaketeta kuroi shiruetto…”_

The audience gasped. Normally, people would be in uproar for not getting to see Tenn. However, the moment they heard Riku’s voice, they were stunned. It was the prettiest voice they had ever heard.

Gaku was startled as well to see someone other than Tenn enter the stage. Yet his years of theatrical training, pounded into him by his father, taught him to stay calm and make the show go on. He slowly approached Riku, singing his next line.

Riku was nervous to be so close to the leading male of the opera house. Yet the next thing he knew, Gaku’s arms were around his waist. And they were dancing.

It was the most magical moment of Riku’s life, despite it just being acting. The two danced together in perfect rhythm, and harmonized their voices flawlessly. It felt like a dream. Riku got so caught up in the beautiful moment, he nearly lost his balance when Gaku lead him center stage.

_“In the meantime…”_

_“In the moment…” _

A single spotlight illuminated the couple. And they made direct eye contact. Suddenly, Riku remembered what was scripted to happen at the end of the scene. The two characters were meant to kiss. Gaku gently held Riku’s waist and pulled him in.

_“Tada susumu dake sa itsumo no youni…”_

Gaku tilted Riku’s chin upward, until their lips were just inches apart. Peacefully closing his eyes, Riku leaned in and prepared to melt in the enchanting moment. The opera house was silent.

Yet before the two actors could bring the scene to a close, a piercing scream suddenly resounded through the audience:

“AAAAAAAAAAHHHH!”

“Everybody move! Run for your lives!”

“It’s the chandelier! IT’S COMING DOWN!!!”

Startled by the sudden outbursts, Riku and Gaku opened their eyes and faced out toward the audience. The stage lights blinded them. Yet they could clearly see the extravagant chandelier hanging over the audience shaking, as if being sawed from the ceiling. Arms still around each other, the two actors couldn’t even move before the colossal chandelier snapped off its tether, and came hurdling down.

**_CRASH!_** It was the loudest sound one could ever imagine. The beautiful chandelier crafted in diamonds and gold slammed onto the floor, shattering into a million pieces. Screams echoed through the house as people trampled one another, rushing to escape.

“RUN!”

“It’s the ghost! The ghost of the opera house!”

“HE’S HERE! THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA!”

Terrified, Riku quickly looked upward to see a dark figure moving in the overhead loft. Yet with the quick movement of shadows, the figure vanished.

“Nanase! NANASE!” Gaku screamed again, rapidly shaking Riku’s shoulders. “Snap out of it! We need to get out of here!” He called.

“Uwah!” Riku squealed, realizing Gaku had been shouting for him. “N-no! Wait! If it’s really the phantom, I want to talk to them!” he announced. “I can see ghosts!”

“You WHAT!?” Gaku shrieked.

However, before anyone could move, dark blue lights suddenly illuminated stage left. As the auditory commotion died down, all eyes fell upon the stage. And for a ghastly moment, it was silent.

Then, _he_ made his entrance.

A mysterious figure dressed in all black swooped onto the stage, and stood directly in the light. He moved in such a swift, supernatural way. Almost as if he glided on air. The entire house stared at the figure in shock, pondering his motives.

Who was he? What did he want?

And what was that strange mask he wore?

To everyone’s confusion, the phantom wore a peculiar white mask over the side of his face, hiding his right cheek. It was mysterious, not to mention impractical. Yet something about it was passionately intriguing.

The phantom quickly scanned the area, looking out to the audience. Then, he turned to the right. And locked dead eye contact with Riku.

“Ah!” Riku gasped. His heart pounded with fright, as he didn’t understand why he was chosen as the target.

The phantom chuckled. Then he finally spoke. “After all my years of searching, I’ve finally found it…” He announced. “The most perfect voice in the world…”

Riku felt his face turn red. He could hardly think, let alone react properly as the enchanting phantom suddenly began moving towards him. With each step the phantom took, the harder it was for Riku to breathe. He felt a respiratory attack from the astonishment seize him, and he began to wheeze for air. Within seconds, the dashing young man was directly in front of him.

Riku was paralyzed by the phantom’s charms. He had soft raven hair, and alluring silver eyes that could see right into your very soul. Even with that peculiar mask, he was the handsomest person Riku had ever seen.

The two stared at each other for a moment, basking under the spotlight. Riku’s heart was still pounding. Yet he did his best to smile, and welcome the ghost in a friendly manner.

“Hahh. Ah…h-hah… H-hello… Mister Phantom…”

The phantom chuckled behind his hand. _“How cute…”_

Riku gasped. “Eh!?”

From there, Riku’s vision went dark. The combination of all the tension put an overload of anxiety on him. It was too much to process. Overwhelmed, Riku suddenly collapsed due to lack of support from his lungs.

However, the phantom swooped in just in time and caught him. Picking up the unconscious choirboy, he delicately held him bridal style. Then, he swiftly made his exit. And dashed off stage left. 

**_ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ _**

“Nanase-san. Nanase-san. Nanase-san.”

“Hm…~?” Riku slowly woke up. He found himself laying in an unfamiliar bed, surrounded by the gentle scent of flickering candles. Much to his surprise, he was greeted by two silver eyes hovering over him.

“Good morning.”

“U-UWAAAHH!” Riku squealed, waking up in alarm. He crawled backwards, clumsily falling off the bed in the process. “Ouch! Wh-where am I!? Who are you!?” He yelped, observing the man on the other side of the bed. He swallowed nervously, as his memories began clearing up. “Y-you… you’re the phantom of the opera!”

The so called phantom sighed at Riku’s foolishness. “I suppose that is what they call me…” He replied, unamused. “But you don’t need to be afraid. My name is Iori Izumi…” He swiftly approached Riku, black cloak flowing behind him. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Nanase-san.”

Riku felt his heart skip a beat as the enchanting man stood before him. “Nice to meet you too…” He whispered. Then he freaked out. “Wait! How do you know my name!? Are you really a ghost!?”

Iori sighed. “Are you an idiot?” he muttered. “There’s no such thing as ghosts. I know your name because I’ve been watching you.”

Riku tilted his head innocently. “Watching me?” he echoed.

“Ahem…” Iori cleared his throat awkwardly, trying not to be swayed by the choirboy’s cuteness. He took a deep breath. “Yes. I’ve been watching you. I’ve heard you sing. Practicing scales, humming to yourself, and making up songs in the shower...”

Riku took a step back. “Are you a stalker!?”

Iori shook his head. “N-not at all! I simply admire you for your voice!” He shouted, becoming flustered.

Although confused, Riku soon felt his anxiety melting away. The phantom was cute when he was embarrassed. That adorable side gave Riku comfort. Relaxing, he smiled and looked around. It appeared to be an underground labyrinth, illuminated by candles. There was a bed, a writing desk, and even a piano. Whatever the place was, it gave off a very romantic atmosphere. Yet an eerie one as well.

“Is this… where you live?” Riku asked, taking a walk around. He noticed a few bookshelves with numerous journals, as well as a few rabbit plushies on it. “Do you like bunnies, Mister Phantom?” he giggled.

Iori turned red. “P-please do not touch things that don’t belong to you!” he ordered. “And don’t call me Mister Phantom. Just Iori is fine.”

“Ok, Iori! I like your room. You sure do have a lot of sheet music…” Riku glanced down at the piano. “Wait a minute… This is music from the opera house! You stole it!”

“Does that surprise you?” Iori swiftly appeared behind Riku, with the sort of speed to send chills down your spine.

“Uwah!” Riku gasped. “S-so the rumors are true. You’re a thief! Why would you do such a thing, Iori?” He begged, tears wielding up in his eyes. “Why!?”

Iori felt his heart sway at Riku’s precious expression. He couldn’t believe that after months of watching him and fantasizing about that beautiful voice, Riku was finally right in front of him. It was his delirious dream come true. Without hesitation, he swiftly appeared behind Riku’s back again, like magic. Then he answered the question in a gentle whisper, brushing his lips against Riku’s ear from behind.

“For you…”

Riku shuddered at the sensation. The next thing he knew, he felt two hands grab his waist from behind. He was forced to lean into Iori, pressing his back to Iori’s chest. He had never been touched like that before, and it made his blood run hot. Yet somehow, it felt perfect. He trembled, before melting into the warmth. And closing his eyes to bask in warm embrace.

Iori smiled as Riku melted into his arms. He soothed him, gently rubbing his palms up and down the sides of Riku’s waist. Then he whispered to him once more.

“Sing…”

“H-huh?”

“Sing for me…” Iori pleaded. He tilted Riku’s chin toward his face and looked deeply into his eyes. “For so long, I’ve been lurking beneath this opera house to find the most perfect voice. I believe your vocals can change the world, Nanase-san. All you need is proper guidance… and you can become the best singer in the world…”

Riku felt his skin crawl as Iori whispered to him in that low, smooth voice. “You really think so?” he asked, mesmerized.

“With all my heart…” Iori whispered. “Sing… my angel of music…”

<https://www.google.com/url?q=https://twitter.com/applemaple3/status/1163619037101690880?s%3D12&sa=D&source=hangouts&ust=1566349845993000&usg=AFQjCNESNBj09ivS6Bt6olF7jeoNv-npNA>

All it took was a simple request. Riku obeyed the phantom. And began to sing.

_“Utaou septet…”_

Iori took a step back to give the other male space. He listened to that happy singing voice, and smiled softly. He had never heard anything so beautiful.

_“Saisho ni narashita ano neiro wa bokura no heartbeat soroete sing with~!”_

Riku giggled as he sang. He spun around in a circle, delighted to sing his heart out. He lost himself in the moment, singing like a real princess as his dress twirled in the air.

As the song concluded, Riku came down from his fairy tale moment and turned to look at Iori. He was shocked to see the other male applauding him.

“How cu- ahem. How wonderful,” Iori praised, clapping his hands.

Riku giggled. “Thank you, thank you!” He waved, pretending to bow for his audience. It was a sweet moment. Everything felt perfect. There was just something about Iori that radiated a sense of perfection.

Iori’s clapping died down as he spoke back up. “See? I told you. My analyzing is never incorrect…” he glided closer to Riku. He caressed the choirboy’s cheek gently, observing his delicate features. “Nanase-san. Allow me to be your pointer,” He proposed. “With your voice and my guidance, I’ll make you into a superstar. Let me control you…”

Riku’s eyes sparkled. No one had ever believed in him the way Iori did. Up until now, he had only been a single voice amongst hundreds in the choir. But now, someone was finally encouraging him. Someone saw the potential in Riku. And it was beautiful.

“Control me, Iori…” Riku begged. “Make me your superstar…”

That was all it took. Iori nodded in approval and tilted Riku’s chin upward. Then without hesitation, he pressed his lips to the other boy’s. And kissed him.

Sparks flew. It was Riku’s first kiss, and it was exhilarating. Ecstasy surged through his body as the phantom’s lips glided across his with ease. Iori radiated an aura of perfection. And he was the most perfect kisser.

Pulling Riku in by the waist, Iori deepened the passionate lip lock. He had dreamed of this moment for so long, where he could finally make Riku his. And now, in the heated moment surrounded by romantic candle light, he made a promise. He would surely make Riku into a superstar.

As their lips parted, Riku gasped for air. He panted lightly, looking up at Iori with half-lidded eyes. “H-“

“NANASE-SAN DO YOU NEED YOUR INHALER ASDFGHJCVBNDFGHJLKJVBHGXCVRTKJHGKJ!?” Iori suddenly shrieked.

“H-huh!?” Riku gasped. “No! What? How do you know I use an inha-…?” He suddenly frowned. “Oh, right. You’ve been stalking me.”

Iori blushed shyly. He apologized to Riku before continuing. He revealed his master plan to make Riku the top opera singer in the world. Riku only half listened, getting lost in Iori’s dreamy silver eyes every now and then. But he understood. From now on, he would visit Iori’s lair everyday to practice singing with him. Iori guided Riku on the path to perfection, teaching him and grooming him like a manager.

Someday, the whole world would hear the beauty of Riku’s voice. And it would all be thanks to the first person who ever believed in him. The mysterious ghost that lived under the opera house.

Iori of the opera.


End file.
